USA > New York > Saratoga County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Saratoga County, New York > Part 66
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Durkee, Elmer E., was born in Fort Edward, January 29, 1868, a son of Dewitt M. and Mary E. (Williams) Durkee. He was educated in the schools of his native place and at Glens Falls Academy. In 1891 he embarked in the coal business in Saratoga Springs and in 1892 formed the partnership of Durkee & Montanye. On May 18, 1892, Mr. Durkee married Luella Amy Humeston, and they have two children: Ethel E. and Lewis W. In the autumn of 1892 Mr. Durkee joined the Citizens Corps,
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now Company L, Second Regiment, N. Y. Vols., and when President Mckinley called for volunteers for the Spanish-American war he went to the front with his company as private and June 7th was promoted to quartermaster-sergeant, in which capacity he served until mustered out October 20, 1898.
Dye, R. G., was born February 8, 1854, a son of Electus Dye, a native of western New York, who came to Saratoga county in 1850, where he engaged in the cooperage business for a few years and served as deputy sheriff. He married Rosanna Hubball and lived an active, upright life and was noted for his sterling integrity; he died in 1895 in his eighty-third year. R. G. Dye was educated in the public schools and was engaged in the paper collar works for eighteen years. In 1881 he organized the firm of Dye Brothers, which is known as R. G. Dye & Co., general merchants. In 1884 Mr. Dye married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Osborn. Mr. Dye is one of the self-made men of his town, taking an active interest in school and church matters and has ever received and merited the respect of his associates.
Eddy, George B., was born in the town of Moreau, Saratoga county, August 18, 1853, a son of David H. and Anna J. Eddy, and lived on the farm until twenty-two years of age. After leaving the farm he went west and spent two years in Iowa, in the live stock exchange, and returning east spent two years in Schuylerville in the lumber and coal business with Sydney Seeley. In 1883 he came to Saratoga Springs and established his present business, bakery and confectionery, wholesale and re- tail, which is the leading one in its line in Saratoga county. On October 13, 1874, Mr. Eddy married Anna Buckbee, daughter of Mahlon Buckbee of Moreau, and their living children are Franklin G., Bertha A. and George B., jr. Franklin G. Eddy is superintendent of the confectionery manufacturing department of the busi- ness. The Eddy family is not only an old one in America, but is traceable back to the year 1500 in England. One of Mr. Eddy's ancestors, in the seventh generation back, was vicar of Cranebrook, England, fifty years, from 1580 to 1630. His sons Samuel and John, with their sister Abigail, came to America in the ship Handmaid in 1630, Samuel settling in Massachusetts and became the progenitor of this branch of the Eddy family.
Eddy, John M., one of the most prominent agriculturalists of Saratoga county, was born in Saratoga Springs, March 6, 1838, and is a son of John W. and Hannah (Marshall) Eddy. Mr. Eddy is of English ancestry, being descended from John Eddy, who emigrated from England in 1630, and settled in Watertown, Mass. He made the voyage on the ship " Handmaid" and landed at Plymouth. John Eddy, grandfather of our subject, was an early settler of Saratoga county, and the family have always been prominently identified with the growth and development of her resources. John M. Eddy received his early education in the district schools, later attending the Saratoga High School, and subsequently taught for three terms, after which he established a grocery business in Saratoga Springs. One year later he re- turned to farming pursuits, which he has since continued with marked success. As a breeder of high grade stock he is best known, and the cow "Sweet Ada," one of his herd of Guernsys, succeeded in winning first prize in the ninety day sweepstake
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competition at the World's Fair in 1893. The " Eddy" farm has been in the pos- session of his family since 1810, and is one of the most productive in this region. Mr. Eddy operates an extensive dairy in connection, and his products are considered the standard of excellence. His patronage is among those requiring the best in quality, and many of his patrons are of long years' standing. In 1873 he married Laura B., daughter of Henry Hunter of Ketchum's Corners, and they have three children ; Harry W., Carrie Marshall and Hannah Laura.
Eede, C. W., was born in the county of Essex, Canada, February 15, 1847, and came to the United States in 1878, locating in Rochester, N. Y., and after graduat- ing from the Baptist Theological Seminary spent two years in the west as a mission- ary, then took a two years' post-graduate course in the Baptist Union Theological Seminary at Chicago, from which he was graduated with the degree of B. D. in 1886. In 1887 he came to Ballston and engaged in newspaper work. In 1894 he purchased his present coal and wood business at No. 9 Milton avenue, formerly con- ducted by Samuel Gould. He also purchased the Gould mansion, No. 6 Milton avenue, where he now lives. In 1886 he married Emma A., daughter of Dr. H. L. Grose, and they have one son and three daughters: Arner G., Edith E., Helen H. and Mabel. Mr. Eede is one of the conservative men of his town, who has ever re- ceived and merited the respect of his associates.
Ellsworth, Daniel W., was born in Troy, N. Y., October 17, 1837, a son of Russell and Pamelia (Morey) Ellsworth. Russell came from Hartford, Conn., and was a descendant of Oliver Ellsworth, chief justice of the United States. Pamelia was a daughter of Deacon Thomas Morey, one of the founders of the Yellow church, located in the southern central part of the town. Deacon Thomas Morey settled in the town of Stillwater about 1780 and followed farming and lumbering. Russell Ellsworth by trade was a stoneware manufacturer, which business he followed in his younger days. He enlisted in the war of 1812 and after the war settled in 'Troy, where he worked at his trade until 1840, then removed to Stillwater and followed farming until his death in 1864. Daniel W. Ellsworth was educated in the common schools of the town and when eighteen years of age started in life for himself as a traveling sales- man, which he followed for three years, when he moved to Indiana and entered the employ of the Ohio & Mississippi railroad for about one year. He then returned to Stillwater, since which time he has followed farming, also cider and vinegar man- ufacturing. Mr. Ellsworth married Pamelia, daughter of John R. and Ann Esmond Myers, and they have four children: John R., George E., Lewis J. and Grace. Mr. Ellsworth has been active in politics and has served as highway commissioner ; he is also active in educational work.
Elms, Charles, sr., was born in the township of Stillwater, February 8, 1839, ed- ucated in the district schools and was by occupation a farmer. He was one of the first men that enlisted from the township of Stillwater in Co. F, 30th Infantry N. Y. Vols., and was honorably discharged June 17, 1863. December 23, 1864, he married Maria Bradt of Albany, N. Y., and they had eight children: Alfred H., Nellie E., Irving H., Howard G., Lydia, Charles W., jr., Marvin and Kittie (twins). Alfred
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H. married Mary Francisco of Stillwater; Nellie E. married Augustus J. Buffington and they had two children: Blanche and Earl; Mrs. Buffington died in February, 1898. Irving H. is a soldier in the 13th U. S. Infantry, and was in the battle of San Juan, Santiago de Cuba. Howard G. married Hattie Duffney, June 22, 1898. The two younger reside at home. Mr. Elms's father, Alfred Elms, was born in Mechanic- ville in February, 1798, educated in the schools of his day and married Lydia Clem- ents of the town of Stillwater, and they had three children: Charles (as above), Hen- rietta and John, who died in Virginia in 1871. His grandfather, Elkenah Elms, was born in Massachusetts and was a soldier at Bemis Heights in the Revolutionary war. Mr. Elms is a member of Elmer E. Ellsworth Post of Mechanicville, No. 619, G. A. R., department of New York, and holds the office of officer of the day.
Englehart, George L., was born at West Milton, June 21, 1866, son of Leonard and Eva (King) Englehart. He has always resided here and is one of the prominent young men of the place. Mr. Englehart attended the village school, which employed two teachers and maintained an excellent standard, until the age of fifteen, when he was enrolled for two years at the Chestnut Grove Seminary, a school located in the same village, successfully conducted by Mrs. Harriet Stilwell Young. After leaving school Mr. Englehart worked on his father's farm, which he now owns and conducts, besides being engaged in stock dealing and wholesale butchering. He is a staunch Republican and although not politically aspiring has held town office and is person- ally interested in town, county and State affairs. Mr. Englehart was married in June, 1887, to Miss Elizabeth Tanner, one of a pair of twin daughters born to Clark and Abbie (Gardner) Tanner, at Northampton, Fulton county, September 12, 1866. Mrs. Englehart's father is a descendant of the New England families which were the pioneer settlers of the town of Day, Saratoga county, typical Yankee " Down-easters." Her mother's family were descendants of the old Dutch Knickerbockers, who settled the Hudson valley. Among them were the Van Buskirks, Van Guyslings, Clough, Perry and Gardner families. Her great-grandfathers, of both branches of the family tree, were Revolutionary soldiers, one being killed in the Long Island campaign. Mrs. Englehart was a school teacher until her marriage. She comes of a pedagog- ical line, her father and mother, four sisters, and two brothers having followed this vocation, also an aunt and uncle, and a granduncle. Mrs. Englehart is quite literary in her tastes and has devoted some time since her marriage to this talent. She is the local correspondent for several county newspapers; also special representative of the American Agriculturist, and has written several historical articles and essays of timely note and interest. Mrs. Englehart is a leader in church work and social circles and an able helpmeet for her husband in his business affairs. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Englehart is one of the best of the town and famous for its charming hostess and delightful hospitality.
Ensign, George A. (deceased), was born in 1828, a son of Charles and Sally (Sey- mour) Ensign. He was educated in the common schools of the town of Stillwater and started in life for himself when sixteen years of age, when he went to Troy, N. Y., where he worked in a foundry as a moulder, and through economy and industry accumulated $1,000, which he used to pay the indebtedness against the old home-
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stead. When about twenty-three years of age he commenced buying produce through Saratoga and Washington counties and shipping to New York Philadelphia and other southern markets, which business he carried on until his death, which occurred February 24, 1884. On the old homstead he started the manafacture of drain tile in 1867, was also in partnership with his brother in running the old home- stead farm, but purchased his brother's interest in 1872. His winters he spent in New York city attending to the produce business, also as an auctioneer. He was supervisor of the town of Stillwater, also a candidate for the State Assembly. He was a very benevolent man, always ready to help a friend and neighbor. He mar- ried Sarah E., daughter of Daniel Cleaveland and Lois Warren, and they had one son, George A., who is about to graduate from Union College as a civil engineer. He has spent some time in the employ of the State as an engineer. Ezekiel Ensign, grandfather of Charles Ensign, came from Holland and purchased a large tract of land on both sides of the Hudson, coming from New York by boat to Albany, from which place they used covered wagons in which they lived while they were constructing their home of logs, which was completed in 1732. This they lived in until the present home was completed in 1753. George was a member of Mont- gomery Lodge No. 504, Free and Accepted Masons of Stillwater.
Estabrook, Nathaniel, was born in the town of Greenfield, August 5, 1821, a son of Thomas Estabrook, who was one of the prominent men of his town. Mr. Esta- brook was one of the prominent men of his town, holding the position of master mechanic of the D. & H. Railroad Co., at Saratoga. He married Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Henry D. and Electa Abel Curtis, and they had one daughter, Estelle. Mr. Estabrook's death in 1880 was a loss not only to his family, but to all who knew him. Of him it can well be said "an honest man is the noblest work of God."
Fitchett, Irving P., was born in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., January 29, 1867, and ed- ucated in the common schools there. He has been in the drug business since 1878, and came to Saratoga Springs in 1889. To his ability as a pharmacist he adds the advantage of a five years' study of medicine, having taken up that course while in the drug business; but instead of attending college, went into the drug business on his own account, intending to take up the study later on. He has one of the best equipped drug stores in the country and carries many specialties, including surgical appliances and physicians' supplies. Mr. Fitchett is regarded as one of Saratoga's most enterprising and successful business men.
Flynn, James, was born in County Waterford, Ireland, March 18, 1833, educated in their schools, and came to the United States with his mother, brother and sister in 1850, locating first in Quaker Springs, afterwards in Stillwater and in 1852 located permanently in Mechanicville. Mr. Flynn has had a variety of occupations, and has dealt in real estate extensively and now lives a retired life. In 1861 he married Rossana Kearney of Troy, N. Y., and they had eight children: Maryann, Ellen, Catherine, Margaret, Annie, Edward, Rossanna and James, jr. Ellen married Thomas Finnigan, and they had one son, Edward, who died at the age of eight months; Margaret married John Cummings, and they had two children, Edward and
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Rossanna. Mrs. Cummings died April 17, 1898. Edward was a student in St. Augustine Catholic College near Philadelphia, and is now a Catholic priest at Atlantic City, N. J. James, jr., died in August, 1897. Mr. Flynn was the first Irish Catholic poormaster in Mechanicville; he has also been an alderman in the board of trustees and was village assessor two terms. In his political choice he is a thorough Demo- crat. The family are members of St. Paul's Roman Catholic church.
Foley, Hon. John, was born in County Waterford, Ireland, about 1848, and came to America in 1852. He was educated in the public schools of Saratoga and at Prof. A. J. Robb's Academy, and early determined upon law as his life profession. In pursuance of this decision he entered the law office of Hon. L. B. Pike, and in due time was admitted to the bar, and has continued to practice ever since. He held various village and town offices. He was a member of the Board of Education of Saratoga for nine years, the last three of which he was president. He took a deep interest in the schools and devoted much time and labor to their advancement. He was elected district attorney of Saratoga county in 1883 and served out his term. He was renominated for the same office in 1886 but declined the honor. He was tendered the Democratic nomination for Congress the same year but he refused to run. In 1887 he was elected State senator for the then Eighteenth district, compris. ing the counties of Saratoga, Schenectady, Montgomery, Fulton and Hamilton. Dur- ing his term he was a member of various committees, among them being judiciary, villages and taxation. He was urged to accept a renomination in 1889, but could not be induced to make the canvass. In 1893 Mr. Foley was appointed by Governor Flower chief executive officer of New York State at the World's Fair in Chicago to succeed Senator Donald McNaughton, deceased. He was a member of the Demo- cratic State Committee for several years; a delegate to the Democratic National Con- vention at Chicago in 1892, and was frequently a delegate to State, congressional, senatorial and county conventions. Mr. Foley is president of the Citizens' National Bank of Saratoga Springs, a prosperous institution.
Ford, John W., was born in the town of Edinburgh, Saratoga county, N. Y., May 15, 1848, and he obtained his education in the public schools and also by private tutor. His early days were spent on the farm. In the year 1868 he began a profes- sional life, and studied civil engineering with D. A. Van Auken, of Cohoes, N. Y. He followed this, his chosen profession, in the employ of the Cohoes Water Co., until 1882, when he came to Waterford and embarked in the knit goods business, in com- pany with a Mr. Pynes, under the firm name of Ford & Pynes, which was dissolved by mutual consent, Mr. Ford selling his interest to his late partner in the year 1892. Shortly afterward the Ford Manufacturing Co. was organized in the same line of goods, a joint stock concern, with John W. Ford as president and treasurer. They em- ploy 250 operators, with an output of $250.000. In the year 1873 Mr. Ford married Minnie S. Peverly, of Waterford, N. Y., and they had two children, Helen and Pev- erly. Mr. Ford's father, John, was born in Fulton county, N. Y., in the year 1809, and was educated in the schools of that early day. He married Vilda M. Wheeler, of Saratoga county, and they had eleven children. Mrs. Vilda M. Ford died in 1890, her husband surviving her at this date, 1898. Mrs. John W. Ford's father, Lidell
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Peverly, was born in New Castle, England. He married Margaret Smith of his native place, and they had seven children, the eldest being born in England. They came to the United States and located in Waterford. Mr. Ford is a member of Clinton Lodge No. 140, F. & A. M., of Waterford, N. Y. He is president of the Board of Education, of which he has been a member for the past ten years. Mr. and Mrs. Ford are members of the Presbyterian church of this place. Ancestry of the family is English on both sides.
Formel, Julius Z., was born in the city of Santiago, Cuba, and received his literary education there and at Pennington Institute, New Jersey, having taken his degree of B. A. in Havana prior to coming to the United States. He then studied in the University of Pennsylvania and the New York College of Pharmacy, from which he graduated in 1872, and afterward opened a drug store in New York city, which he conducted for several years. In 1889 he came to Saratoga Springs and engaged in the establishment of a plant for the extraction of carbonic acid gas from the waters of the Seltzer spring. He established the Saratoga Carbonic Acid Gas Co. and is one of the stockholders of that concern. At present he is vice-president and general manager of the Champion Carbonic Acid Gas Co., which he organized. This busi- ness has assumed a flattering magnitude, owing to the talent and energy of Mr. J. Z. Formel. This new industry has been of great benefit to Saratoga Springs. He has perfected two patents, one to purify the gas and another to purify the waters, by a mechanical process, without abstracting any of their fine qualities or adding any foreign ingredients to them. By this process the water can be kept for any length of time as fresh as when it leaves the spring. Mr. Formel is an ardent Cuban patriot, and has always been a warm friend and aid to the Cuban Junta. Mr. Formel married first Margaret Byron, who died, leaving two children: Julius and Bella. He married second, Cordelia E. Heraghty, daughter of Peter Heraghty, and their children are Adrian, Fernando, Madeleine, Eugenie, Leonora, Inez and Theodora.
Fort, Cornelius M., was born at Fort's Ferry, Albany county, N. Y., November 11, 1845 (Fort's Ferry was named after this family at an early date), was educated in the district schools, one term at Fort Edward Institute and Troy Commercial Col- lege. He was a clerk in different stores and came to Mechanicville in 1869, where he was a clerk in a general store six years. In 1875 he began business for himself and had two changes with different partners. In 1878 he began to conduct a gen- eral store in his present location, which by industry, sobriety and fair dealing has been very successful. September 2, 1873, he married Magdalene Van Derwerken of the township of Stillwater, and they have three children: Ida E., Sidney V. and Florence M. Ida E. married Rev. George M. Moody, who is a clergyman in the Methodist Episcopal church, and they have one son, Cornelius S. Sidney V. is a clerk in his father's store. Florence M. is a student in the Mechanicville Union Free School. Mr. Fort's father, Michael Fort, was born at the old home in 1809, and owned a half interest in Fort's Ferry and was a farmer by occupation. He married Helen Van Zandt and they had eight children: John, Gilbert (who was drowned at the age of twelve years), Cornelius M. (as above), Sarah (died in infancy), Anna M., Levinus, Edgar and Gertrude. Michael Fort died in January, 1870, and his widow
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in 1896. Mr. and Mrs. Fort are members of the M. E. church; he has been steward and trustee for many years. He is a charter member of On-da-wa Lodge No. 820, F. & A. M., Montgomery Chapter No. 257, R. A. M., Apollo Commandery No. 15, K. T., and in his political choice is a Prohibitionist.
Fort, John L., was born in Schaghticoke, Rensselaer county, N. Y., June 1, 1830, a son of Tunis and Delia (Birch) Fort. Tunis Fort was a native of Rensselaer county, and died in Providence in 1850; his wife died in Galway about 1886. John L. was educated in the common schools and carries on farming, having a farm in Galway of one hundred and sixty acres, also one in Charlton, upon which his son lives. In 1850 he married Johannah Hart, and their children are Rosetta, Sarah E., George H., Carmi and John L., jr. George H. and Rosetta are engaged in teaching; John L., jr., was educated at Poultney, Vt., and Burlington College and for eight years has been engaged in the ministry; Sarah E. married Eugene Seaman, a farmer two miles south of Ballston; Carmi is a farmer at west Charlton.
Fry, Dewitt C., was born in Lafayette, Onondaga county, N. Y., November 13, 1841, and obtained his education in the common schools and Cortland Academy, in early life following the occupation of a farmer. He came to Saratoga county in 1866 and in 1874 went to Cohoes, Albany county, where he conducted a grocery for a number of years, and then came to Crescent in 1896, when he embarked in the hotel business successfully. November 11, 1866, he married Rebecca E. Freeman, of Halfmoon, and they have two children: Byron, who assists his father in his busi- ness, and Blanch M., who married Cooley P. Greene, now of Cohoes, N. Y., and they have one son, Elwin. Mr. Fry's father, Jeremiah, was born in Saratoga county, N. Y. (in Waterford township), in the year 1808, a farmer, and was educated in the schools of his day. He married Catherine Shear, of that locality, and they had seven children: George, Mary, Harriet (deceased), Dewitt C. (as above) Edward, Jerome and Alfred, the three last named being dead. Mr. Fry died in 1888 and his widow in 1897. Mrs. Fry's father, Patterson Freeman, was born in Greenwich, Saratoga county, in the year 1807, and was educated in the schools of his day. He married Hannah Burtis, of the town of Halfmoon, and they had five children: Burtis, Heman, Platt V., Phoebe and Rebecca E , as above. Mr. Freeman died in 1884 and his wife in 1882. Mr. Fry in his political choice is a thorough Republican. The an- cestry of the family is Dutch and English.
Fuller, Edward H., son of Samuel Washington and Charlotte Amelia (Benson) Ful- ler, was born in Albany, but has resided in Saratoga Springs since 1846. He en- listed in Company F, Thirtieth New York Infantry, and subsequently with the cele- brated Seventy-seventh New York in August, 1862. He was wounded at Mary's Heights May 3, 1863, and after his recovery nine months later was detailed to the war department at Washington in Adjutant-General Breek's office, Since the war Mr. Fuller has been a prominent G. A. R. man, and has been commander of Post Wheeler for three years. Mr. Fuller is one of the prominent dealers in paints and painter's supplies in Saratoga, the business having been established by his father, with whom Mr. Fuller was for many years a partner. Mr. Fuller's father was a
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noted painter of high artistic skill, and was also a talented musician ; he was born December 25, 1816, and died June 3, 1895.
Fuller, Frank A., was born at Northville, October 19, 1848, a son of Sylvenus and Sylvia (Oakley) Fuller, who had three children: Frank A., Mary and one who died in infancy. Sylvenus married a second time, Mary Furman, and they had two chil- dren: Mary Belle and Ida. Frank A. was educated in the schools of Northville and Edinburgh. His early life was spent on the farm with his father, attending school winters and assisting his father on the farm summers. When ten years of age he moved with his parents to Edinburgh, and in 1869 his father sold his farm and moved to the town of Ballston, where they now live, and where Frank A. carries on farm- ing, also runs a mail route from Ballston Lake to Ballston Center. In 1875 Mr. Ful- ler married Mary O., daughter of Hibbard and Elizabeth Morehouse, and their chil- dren are Viola, Ida, Arthur, Charles, Sylvia, and Belle, all born in the town of Balls- ton. Mr. Fuller is actively interested in town and county affairs and school and educational work; has been trustee, also clerk of the schools for ten years. Jonathan Fuller was a son of one of the three brothers who came from England and settled at Bennington, Vt., and moved to Northville when there were but three houses in the village. He was father of Sylvenus, and grandfather of Frank A. Fuller.
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